ismaelg

Hello, Another Aurora find. The 1922 Indy 500 winner. Now, as you all know I'm a sucker for historical research. Jimmy Murphy won de 1922 Indianapolis 500 race. You may have heard that he won the 1921 French Grand Prix in that same car. Well, there is a caveat to that. He did win the 1921 French Grand Prix in this Duesenberg car. He eventually bought that winning car, but swapped the Duesenberg engine for a Miller engine. That's the combination that won the 1922 Indy 500. But wait, there's more: One of the official Indianapolis Motor Speedway pictures of the day show Jimmy Murphy in car #8. But the car he ran and won the race was #35. Maybe that #8 is from a different date at the track? Maybe from qualifying? He did race as #8 in the races prior to Indianapolis. I still have to research more on that. To make it even more confusing, the actual car is in the IMS museum but it has #12 livery which I believe is the livery used in the 1921 French Grand Prix in LeMans. Anyways, I got a reasonably priced Aurora 1922 Murphy. Minor broken parts, but there are some missing parts like front axle, steering linkages, Motometer and probably a few more bits. Of course the wheels are the weakest link here. Not counting the wheels, it is a very simple and basic kit, yet it looks to be properly proportioned and it seems it can be made into a nice model. Let's see where this goes. Thanks, Ismael

Gary! Glad to see you back at the workbench! Will you believe me if I tell you I like this subject? 🤣 Looking really good! Regards, Ismael

Hello, These have a unique story. The series is of 6 cars. They are all around 1/30 scale. They were made by the Best Plastic Company in 1954. In 1957 Aurora bought the molds. From what I have read, Aurora was involved with them on this project from the start. Aurora re-launched these in 1958 and discontinued them in 1963 never to be seen again. No idea if the molds still exist but I doubt it. Very simple kits and "crude" by 1963 standard sealed their demise. The series was created with the help of 3 time Indy winner Wilbur Shaw who was the President of the Indianapolis motor Speedway after WW2. The cars were the Indy 500 winners of 1920, 1922, 1931, 1935, 1949 and 1953. I have this one(1920) and the 1922 and 1931 are in transit. These kits are getting expensive so I am getting built glue bombs to restore. Missing and broken parts are unavoidable as these are at least 62+ years old. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Let the repairs begin! One of these was fine, the other was broken in 3 pieces. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Using the freezer trick I was able to disassemble most of it. The bag on the right contains the broken parts from the rough mail ride. It will be a challenge to fix but I will take a crack at it because the other alternatives are triple digit money. I'm cheap 🙂 The kit's wheels would require a lot of work to get to barely adequate but still oversized. Any suggestions for a good 3D print period wire wheel/tire file? I have plans for several vintage racers and I will need a few period wire wheel sets. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, This will be a very long term project. I was able to hunt down a kind of reasonably-priced built Aurora 1920 Monroe Special. Pictures from the ebay listing: Nicely built by the way. While I had the intention to disassemble and repaint/rebuild, it seems the postal service wanted to help. Despite been carefully packed, this is what I got. So this will be a long term project. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Just finished my 1988 Indy 500 winner PC-17 driven by Rick Mears. You can see the full post with more pictures here: https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/201893-ladies-and-gentlemen-presenting-my-1988-indy-500-winner-pc-17-driven-by-rick-mears/ I hope you like it. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, This one is FINISHED and posted Under Glass: https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/201893-ladies-and-gentlemen-presenting-my-1988-indy-500-winner-pc-17-driven-by-rick-mears/ Thank you for accompanying me in this journey. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, And this one is FINISHED! For my building pace, this can be considered almost a quick build. Far from perfect, but as a photographer I control the angles of the pictures to show its best and hide the flaws. To put it mildly, the AMT kit is terrible. Whoever designed it did not expect it to be built, at least seriously. Made it a curbside with some re-engineering to force it to fit. Indycals decals, excellent as usual. I added a few drops of pearl to the clear. Hardly visible but they are there. All the effort on the dash switches, pedals and shifter linkage was wasted as nothing can be seen. Only the seatbelts are barely seen. Here is the build thread: https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/200037-rick-mears-1988-indy-500-winner-pc-17/ Without any further ado: Rick Mears is one of the all time Indy greats. The third driver to win Indy 4 times. Multiple championships, race wins and poles. In 1988 he won his 3rd Indy 500 driving the Pennzoil PC17 yellow submarine for Roger Penske. This car together with the Marmon Wasp have a personal significance for me: They represent the bookends of all Indy 500 races I missed. I saw the end of the 1988 race but 1989 was the first full race I watched. At my private museum: At my finish line and pit wall with compressed air testing the air jacks. can you hear the hissing? The hose connects to the port via a wire and hole. At the finish line Back at my private museum I hope you like it. Comments, feedback and questions are welcome. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, We all know these AMT kits have some "fit issues" to put it mildly. The radiators are thick and I will only have one chance at mating the rear bodywork to the car in this curbside project. To play it safe I made aluminum impressions of the radiators. This one is torn but you get the idea. A black wash, glue them in place, ...and you have radiators with lower chances of interference. But most importantly, will disguise all the empty space. Thanks, Ismael

Wow! I am humbled and really appreciate your words. Thank you! Hello, The color of the Marmon Wasp has been a controversy for decades. I've been researching this topic for years. In a nutshell, all evidence points to the shade of yellow I used is the correct one. Some points are: -The photographic emulsions of the day were not sensitive to red. The hint of orange in the color will make it show dark in the pictures. It has been proven that the current color will show that dark in period emulsions. -The car was kept by the Marmon family for decades and it was faded. The museum acquired it in the early 1950's . The car was not completely restored like they do today. Only repainted. Ray Harroun himself oversaw the process. Some parts are believe to still have original paint. There is a 1946 movie film in color called "Crucible of Speed" where Ray Harroun himself talks about the car. The car looks quite faded and most likely fueled the confusion. -In the 1960's there was a magazine article that referred to the car as "orange". Part of the confusion is that Ray Harroun was apparently quoted to say "I remember it more orangey" or something along those lines. Apparently he was referring to the faded car prior to the restoration. In summary, after years of research and conversation with like minded lunatics... I mean, other enthusiasts, I truly believe that is the correct color the Marmon Wasp raced with. Changes to the car from race configuration to today is another story I can spend hours on. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Gotta check the fuel pump toggle switch connection. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Not sure if anybody is following but here is more scratchbuilding progress: Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Scratchbuilt one, now the challenge is to do another identical one. 🙂 Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the roundest of them all? Indycals decals over the kit's tires. Raised letters were eliminated by sanding smooth. A quick spray of dullcoat once fully dry should take these to the finish line. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, Now to wait a day or two before clearcoating. Thanks, Ismael

Pierre, Thank you for the very kind word. I really appreciate! Thank you!

Hello, Conversation with myself: "What the hell are you doing?" "Ohh!!! Carry on!" Onboard air jacks for pit stops service. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, This will be a curbside with the engine cover permanently attached. So no use to detail the engine. Only what will be visible. Added some fluid lines with anodized hardware. I had previously made plastic (2 different ones), brass and aluminum rear axles. The aluminum was not bad but I will most likely use the brass one for a hint of contrast. Thanks, Ismael

Hello, So, let me see if I understand this: We take a yellow molded kit. We complain it is molded in yellow but that's another story. We work it, we prime it and we paint it.... YELLOW! Then we don't understand when people call us weird! 🤣 This is only the first coat of paint. It actually looks better in the picture than what it really is. I call it the colored primer because this will be sanded down smooth to almost nothing before putting many more color coats. You can see the back of the engine compartment floor is still plastic color. Thanks, Ismael

Thank you! I am tempted to put a picture of myself in there... 🤣

Hello, Thank you all for the comments! Sorry I forgot to mention the model is 1/25 scale, using the Indycals 3D kit as a starting point. Not exactly a project for the faint of heart. Finally got a chance to take some more pictures with no background trying to replicate the angles of the original photos and converting to black and white. Here are some examples. Of course, the top is the original pic from 1911 and the bottom my attempt to match it. I may try it again later with other techniques. At the start of the race At speed: This is one of the most famous picture of this car. Notice a "rolling shutter" type distortion effect suggesting a fast moving object thru the frame. At the winner's circle. Hope you like it! Regards, Ismael

Hello, Just a test. Thanks, Ismael

Thank you all for your nice comments! Really appreciate it. Billy, I'm out of town but I that is exactly what I want to do next: Black and white pictures to match those originals. Stay tuned! Thanks, Ismael

Very nice Steve! I'm currently working on Mear's '88 yellow submarine.